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Manuscripts and personal papers

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This image shows two handwritten journal pages: the left features structured, titled entries, while the right is filled with continuous cursive text, densely covering the page in a narrative style.

James Cook, Excerpt from Captain James Cook's Journal of the H.M.S. Endeavour, Friday, 23rd March, 1770, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2354391495

Manuscripts collection

Our Manuscripts collections are wide ranging and provide rich evidence of the lives and activities of Australians who have shaped our society.

Information article
Pile of letters from the Records of the Australian Federation of Women Voters

Records of the Australian Federation of Women Voters 1920 - 1983, nla.obj-245104655

Using the Manuscripts Collection

How to find and use items in the Manuscripts Collection.

Information article
Collection guide
Alston Collection

The Alston Collection is a treasure trove of over 1,800 works on philology and linguistics. From rare books and manuscripts to Robin Alston’s personal drafts and correspondence, this collection is a must for anyone exploring the history of language and early bibliographical studies.

Collection guide
A calm river snakes into the distance, with green grass on one side and trees on the other

George French Angas (artist) and James William Giles (lithographer), The River Murray, near Lake Alexandrina, 1847, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-135637342

Angas Collection

Paintings, drawings, sketchbooks and manuscripts by George French Angas.

Collection guide
Map of Antarctica showing territories and dependencies.

Australia. Department of the Interior. Property and Survey Branch. & E. P. Bayliss, J. S. & Cumpston, Antarctica, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-236895938

Australian explorations in the Antarctic

Diaries, papers, photographs, maps and other material related to Australia's involvement in the Antarctic

Collection guide
Hand coloured manuscript map of Australia, on base map titled 'A community survey of Australia', showing reach of Flying Doctor Service in red and reach of wireless communication in blue. Shows locations as Wyndham, Port Hedland, Kalgoorlie, Alice Springs, Cloncurry and Charleville and Broken Hill.

John Flynn, Flying Doctor Service of Australia, 1951, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-481242509

Australian Inland Mission

The Australian Inland Mission established 15 nursing homes, bush hospitals and services in remote Australian locations.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Baracchi Collection

Papers, pamphlets, books and periodicals relating to communism, socialism, fascism, capitalism, international relations, public finance, politics, World War II, and the Vietnam War.

Collection guide
A black-and-white postcard depicting a forest scene with a large wooden structure resembling a natural shelter or barricade. The structure is made from wooden logs and branches, arranged in a semi-circle or arch. The dense forest in the background features tall trees, ferns, and thick underbrush, creating a secluded and mysterious atmosphere. The ground appears rough, with scattered debris and fallen logs. The image is reminiscent of a hidden or protected space within the wilderness.

Postcard of a sketch by William Knight of a native camp, Midlands, Tasmania, sketch made on the spot, 1924, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-3265441693

Bates Collection

Papers, maps, photographs and other publications largely relating to Daisy Bates' research on First Australians.

Collection guide
First Australians
Black and white image of factories and other industrial buildings in a valley

William A. Bayley, The industrial valley of Lithgow looking west, Lithgow, New South Wales, 1939, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-152895444

Bayley Collection

Books, booklets, pamphlets, leaflets and hundreds of photographs and postcards mainly relating to New South Wales country towns.

Collection guide
Map of East India Islands, Dutch colonies, with Thailand, French colonies, Indochina and Malay Peninsula.

Henry Otley Bayer, Malay Archipelag 1:8,500,000, 1942, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-580711626

Beyer Collection

Papers, including manuscripts on Philippine ethnography, books and pamphlets in various languages on a wide range of subjects with a focus on the Philippines, photographs and printed and manuscript maps collected by Henry Otley Beyer.

Collection guide
Collection guide
Brady Collection

Overseas and Australian sheet music, including some manuscripts, with the main strengths popular songs and piano music of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Collection guide
Nine medals awarded to J.P. and J.M. Braga, including an OBE awarded to J.P. Braga

Medals awarded to J.P. and J.M. Braga, including an OBE awarded to J.P. Braga, 1935, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-147186954

Braga Collection

Family papers, maps of the Hong Kong and Macau region, pictures, photographs and a large collection of books and pamphlets predominantly historical works, particularly histories of Portugal, the Portuguese colonies, China and Japan.

Collection guide

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